Lead
Dense, easily cast, and electro-chemically stable, lead underpins the world’s ≈ 1 GWh per year starter- and reserve-battery market. Closed-loop recycling is highly efficient—secondary smelters already deliver ~60 % of refined metal—yet primary mines in China, Australia and Peru remain critical to balance. Data-centre UPS, telecom back-up and emerging 48 V micro-hybrid vehicles keep lead-acid volumes resilient even as EVs spread.
Supply Dynamics
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Secondary smelters supply ~60 % of refined metal; collection rates above 95 % in OECD markets.
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China, Australia, Peru and Mexico provide most primary concentrate; mine grades are stable but permitting tightens.
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Smelter-emission standards raise CAPEX for new secondary plants.
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Basel-type trade rules on battery scrap could constrain some cross-border flows.
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Limited substitution in cost-sensitive SLI batteries preserves baseline offtake.
Demand Dynamics
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Lead-acid batteries remain the lowest-cost, high-surge solution for automotive start-stop, telecom and UPS.
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48 V micro-hybrid drivetrains lift plate demand despite BEV growth.
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Construction and medical sectors sustain shielding applications, partly price-inelastic.
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Ammunition, cable sheathing and crystal glass ebb under toxicity rules.
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Near-100 % recyclability insulates demand from primary-metal price swings.